Purely Imperfect
by The Queen of Pecans
Summary: Ruthie Camden was finally getting her life in order, picking up the last pieces of her broken heart. But when Martin returns after finding out that Sandy's baby isn't his, her life gets a whole hell of a lot more complicated. Marthie. Ruthie/Martin. R&R.
1. Windows

**A/N: So, I finally got around watching Season Nine of 7****th**** Heaven on DVD, and I suddenly had the urge to write a Ruthie/Martin fic. It took me a couple of tries to come up with a good plot line, but I think I've stumbled upon one that will make for a very interesting, Marthie-filled story. Plus, not many people write 7****th**** Heaven fics anymore – it was a **_**fantastic **_**show; let's keep it alive! And even though Ruthie and Martin didn't end up together – much to mine, and I'm sure, everyone else's, chagrin – that doesn't mean we can't write stories where they **_**do **_**end up togehter. I thought about writing the story to take place during Season 11, after Ruthie returns from Scotland, or writing it as if it took place after Season 11 and have Ruthie choose Martin over T-Bone, but then I decided to have it take place during Season 10. So, this story starts towards the end of Season 10, a month or so after Martin moves to be near Sandy and the baby. And, just so you know (though you'll probably figure it out after reading this first chapter), Martin comes back to Glen Oak and go to high school when he finds out that the baby isn't his.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Or else it would be in it's 14****th**** season now, filled with many, many Marthie moments. Sigh. Maybe one day ...**

**And so, without further ado, I present to you the way that the end of Season 10 should have really gone – because we all know Ruthie and Martin belong together.**

**--**

_It wasn't his._

The thought was overwhelming, not at all how she had expected it to be. Hadn't she daydreamed about this moment millions of times? Hadn't she wished and wanted and hoped and prayed for it to come?

Yes, she had. And here it was – the baby wasn't his. It _really _wasn't his. Of course, it hadn't happened exactly like her daydreams; he didn't come find her in the backyard, or a restaurant, to declare his love for her. Rather, Lucy – who had been helping Sandy through the whole ordeal – came to deliver the news: Martin was not the father. According to Lucy, Sandy had had a paternity test done recently, only a month or so after the baby was born (and a month or so after Martin had left Glen Oak to be closer to the Sandy and the baby).

Apparently Aaron – that was the baby's name – was actually fathered by some guy Sandy had met at a party about a week prior to sleeping with Martin. And now she and party-guy were trying out the whole 'living together and raising a family' thing. And Martin was, Lucy had told them, coming back to Glen Oak to continue high school (even though, technically, he'd already graduated).

Strange how these things worked out, wasn't it?

She'd always imagined – in her daydreams, at least – that she'd be happy, ecstatic, if something like this ever happened. That she'd fall into Martin's arms, the ones that she'd always felt had fit her so perfect, her face pressed up against his chest, his lips planting smooth kisses into her dark curls. Life would be perfect.

But life wasn't feeling perfect now, and she wasn't feeling happy. She had just been starting to let him go. But knowing that he would be returning soon (tomorrow, actually, Lucy had said), living across the street from her, maybe even giving her rides to school again, brought a sharp, searing pain to her stomach.

She wanted to punch something.

Why was he coming back now? Why did he have to ruin _everything_? There was only, like, two or three months left of the school year left anyways – why come back for those two, puny months? Why not just continue at college, playing baseball and doing college things?

Ruthie grabbed her pink throw pillow and threw it across the room in anger. After all, what better use did a _throw _pillow serve, anyways? But it didn't help to get all her frustration out. Instead, she found that she was still very much in a bad mood.

Why couldn't things go her way – just _once_?

It wasn't fair that he was coming back _now,_ when she was finally getting her life in order. She'd just started going out with Brian – having finally received her parent's permission to date the eighteen year old – and now Martin was going to come and screw everything up. Typical Martin.

Ruthie let out a sigh and went to grab her throw pillow, tossing it back on the bed. Then she curled up under her covers, leaning back against the headboard, and brought her knees up to her chest.

It was going to be a long night.

**--**

She watched him from her room.

He was lugging boxes and suitcases into his house; his father was helping him. She kept peeking through the window at him, the curtain open barely an inch so he wouldn't see her watching. Every once and a while he would glance over at her house. Sometimes it looked like he was looking at her window, almost directly at her and, during these occurrences, she would quickly shy away from the window, praying to God that he hadn't seen her.

Not like it mattered, anyway. She couldn't avoid him forever, she knew. Eventually, he would either come over here – it would be the polite thing to do – just to say 'hi' to everyone, or, if he didn't (_she_ sure wouldn't if she was in his place), then she would definitely be seeing him at school Monday. They were bound to bump into each other in the small hallways at one point or another. She was just praying that that point would never come.

"Ruthie?" her mom's voice interrupted her watching Martin and she jolted upright, quickly letting the curtain fall.

"What?" she asked, a bit rudely, embarrassed at being caught watching, but also angry at being interrupted.

"We're having breakfast downstairs – chocolate chip pancakes."

Ruthie crinkled her nose. "I'll come down later and just have a bowl of cereal or something."

Her mom shook her head. "No, Ruthie," she reprimanded, "You'll come down _now_ and eat with the rest of the family."

Sighing, Ruthie obliged her mother, grabbing her robe and pulling it on over her pajamas before making her way down the stairs.

"I'll just have one pancake," she announced, sliding into the seat next to Sam.

"Martin's back," David said, as if she didn't already know, while Annie slid a pancake onto Ruthie's plate. She took a bite, munching it slowly, before swallowing.

"I noticed," she commented dryly.

Annie shot her a warning look. Ruthie shot her a I-don't-care look back. Then Annie shot her a stop-this-attitude-now-or-else look, so Ruthie sighed, resigned.

"So," Ruthie asked, shoving another piece of pancake in her mouth, "What are you boys up to today?"

"We're going to play at the park with Maddie."

Ruthie stifled a laugh. Maddie was one of the twin's best friend – and also, she was convinced, _both _of their love interests (even if they were still only seven).

"That's nice," she said. Polishing off the last of her pancake, Ruthie stood up quickly from the table, heading over to the sink to rinse off her dish and then stick in the dishwasher.

"I'm going upstairs to get ready," she said, "I have a date today. With Brian." Annie nodded and Ruthie hurried up the stairs, noticing that after all of her Martin-watching that morning, she only had about forty-five minutes left to get ready. Heading into her room to grab some clothes – jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and a gray cardigan vest – she took one last quick peek out the window; Martin was staring at their house. As soon as he she saw him watching her house, she let the curtain fall, quickly exiting the room and heading towards the bathroom.

As she massaged her favorite berry tea shampoo into her scalp, Ruthie's mind kept wandering back to Martin – why had he been staring at their house? Was he going to come over, or something? Because that was the polite thing to do, though Ruthie was feeling torn on whether or not she wanted him to come over. She hadn't really talked to him since the baby had been born and he'd left for college. It would be awkward if he did come over, she decided, that much was for sure.

She finished up in the shower as fast as she could, but her hair was a whole other obstacle. It took her nearly twenty minutes to get all the tangles out, but she finally managed to turn her wild curls into a somewhat controlled mess. She got dressed quickly then left the bathroom – Brian would be here any second.

As if reading her thoughts, she heard the door bell ring. "I'll get it!" she called, tying up the laces on her ankle-length high-heeled boots as quickly as she could, "It's probably Brian!" She hurried down the stairs, nearly tripping in the process, then slowed to a casual walk as she reached the front door. After all, she didn't want to appear _too _anxious.

Straightening her white shirt, she reached for the handle of the door, slowly pulling it open. What – or rather, _who –_ stood on the other side took her completely by surprise.

"Martin?" The name spilled out of her mouth as she took in all six feet of the boy in front of her. He looked a little older, but mostly just the same. God, it felt _weird _seeing him this up close again. It was enough to send chills up her spine.

"Ruthie," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Hey."

She swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat. "Hey," she said back. She had been right – this _was _awkward.

"Can I, uh, come in?" he asked.

"Oh, yea, sure," she said, sort of absentmindedly, stepping aside to let Martin in. He stepped past her and she shut the door behind him.

"So," he said, regarding her.

"So," she answered back, getting nervous. She rocked back and forth on her heels – he was making her feel uncomfortable and awkward and embarrassed, yet her stomach was churning, filling with butterflies – a feeling she hadn't felt in a while, a long while. "What brings you to this side of the street?" Oh, God. Had she _really_ just said that?

Martin chuckled. "Just wanted to say hi – you, uh, you did hear about Sandy and the baby, didn't you?"

Ruthie nodded. "That the baby's not yours? Yea, we heard; Lucy told us. She still talks to Sandy, you know."

Martin nodded. "Of course."

There was another awkward pause and then the doorbell rang for the second time that morning. "Ruthie?" Annie called, hurrying into the entryway, "I thought you said you were going to get the door."

"I did," Ruthie answered, gesturing to Martin.

Annie's mouth formed into a little oh-shape. "Martin," she announced, surprised, trying to regain her composure, "How are you?"

"Good, thanks Mrs. Camden." It was silent, save for the shuffling of feet, and then the doorbell rang again.

"Oh!" Ruthie explain, feeling a bit frazzled, "I should get going." She grabbed her purse lying by the door and slung it over her shoulder.

"You're going out?" Martin asked suddenly, taking her surprise.

Ruthie nodded, her hand laying on the doorknob. A swift knocking was heard on the other side. "I have a date," she explained. With those words, Ruthie swung open the door, where Brian stood, waiting.

"Hey you," Brian said, "What took you so long?"

She glanced over her shoulder, where Martin and Annie stood, watching them. "Oh, hey," Brian said, lighting up and stepping inside the house. "Martin Brewer! I heard you were back. Man, we've been having a kil-_ler _season without you. I knew you'd be back!" He slipped an arm around Ruthie's waist as he talked. "Man, we might actually beat the Hawks this year! How cool would that be?"

Martin nodded. "Yea, sounds great." Ruthie tried to gage his reaction to Brian and her date – nothing. His face was a blank slate, a poker face.

"Sure as hel – I mean, _heck_, sorry Mrs. Camden. Sure as _heck _will be! And guess what? I finally got a car, man! A Chevy Camaro – how wicked is _that_?"

"We should get going," Ruthie said, tugging on Brian's hand, "If we want to make that early showing." She pulled him towards the door with her, trying to reach it as quickly as possible. "Bye mom. And Martin, it was good seeing you."

"You too," she thought she heard Martin say, but she couldn't be sure because the door was already closing behind her and Brian and they were walking towards his car.

"Hey," he said, as she headed to the passenger side of his Camaro, "I never got to say hello to you properly." The next thing she knew, Brian's lips were pressed up against hers, and she was pressed up against the back of the car, the door handle digging sharply and uncomfortably into her back.

As he kissed her, and she, admittedly, kissed him back, she felt like something was off – it wasn't an uncommon feeling; his kisses had been feeling like that for a while. The first time he had kissed her, she'd believed it was the most amazing kiss she'd ever tasted – full of passion and want and longing and need. But the novelty had worn off and, lately, she was starting to notice another, sharper edge to his kisses; they seemed forceful, almost, hard and rough, and she was always the one to push him away.

This time was no exception. "Come on," she muttered, gently prying his lips from her own, "We're going to be late." Before he could plant another kiss on her, she was turning around and climbing into his car, slamming the door behind her quickly. She didn't look back at her house as they pulled out of the driveway – much too quickly, _always _much too quickly, as Brian seemed to like to drive as fast as possible (even faster than Vincent had liked to drive, which was saying something).

If she had looked back, she would have seen _him _watching.

**--**

**A/N: So, how was it? I'm excited to get started on the next chapter – I have _great _ideas for this story! Review, review, review, pretty please!**


	2. Distractions

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I sort of forgot about this story. Won't happen again (hopefully). Hope you enjoy. XD**

**Disclaimer: I mailed them about a year ago asking if I could have the rights ... I haven't received a reply yet ... maybe my letter got lost?**

**--**

She didn't want to go to church the next day.

She knew she'd see him there, if she went. She was worried that he was going to try to talk to her. She couldn't stand to talk to him. It would be too painful – _much _too painful. It would bring back too many memories. She was afraid that if she was around him too much, she would break – crack open like an egg, make a mess all over the floor.

It had been weird, when he'd came over yesterday. Surreal, almost, but it was too awkward and uncomfortable to be surreal. So just weird. It had hurt, talking to him, looking at him, seeing him again after all that time.

It hadn't been that long, had it?

No, it hadn't. But it felt like it had – she'd been settling into a routine with Brian. Even though she knew she didn't _really _like Brian, certainly not the way Brian liked her. Even if his kisses were somewhat forceful. Even if going out with him felt like a chore. It didn't matter, because Brian was a distraction, Brian was predictable.

Martin was not a distraction – he was a full-on in-your-face hurt. He was not predictable, rather, he was unexpected and unreliable.

But that was what made him exciting.

"Ruthie? Ruthie! Come on, we're going to be late!" Her mom's voice echoed up the stairs and Ruthie reluctantly stood up from her bed and headed down to meet the rest of the family.

Going to church was starting to feel like a chore.

She climbed into the car – next to the twins – and stared out the window as they drove the short ride to the church.

The ride felt too short today.

Usually, she liked how short it is – it meant that she got home sooner, it meant that she didn't have to spend so long in the car with Sam and David. But this time, it was _too_ short; it wasn't long enough. She needed it to be long so that she wouldn't have to see _him_ again.

"Ruthie, get a move on. Why are you so slow this morning?" Annie ushered her out of the car and towards the church.

She didn't even bother dressing up much today – just plain black dress slacks (she would've worn jeans, but she knew her mother would never had let her) and a simple navy blue top and white cardigan. Her hair hung curly down her back, not straightened, not much of anything done to it.

She was afraid to look around the church as they slid into their usual pew at the front of the church. Still, she could tell the moment he walked in – she could feel his eyes on her, watching her, studying her.

She hated it.

She hated a lot of things. She hated herself for not breaking up with Brian, for letting him kiss her the way he did. She hated that Martin was at church while Brian had never came before. She hated that she still got butterflies around Martin, that he still had such an effect on her.

The service went by quickly, not a word of the sermon registering in her brain. She knew that it wouldn't be long until everything was over. She just had to get to the car, get home, and then she would be free until tomorrow.

"Ruthie!" she heard him call out as she walked past.

Shit.

"Martin, hey," she said, awkwardly, walking up to him. She'd been so close. He was wearing a dress shirt and a tie.

Brian never wore dress shirts or ties.

"We never got to finish talking yesterday," he started.

"Oh," she said, tucking her hands under her armpits to keep them warm, "Right. Sorry about, you know, running out like that. But we were going to be late, so I had to jet." She stared up at him – God, she missed looking into his eyes. _Focus, Ruthie. _"So, um, what did you want to talk about exactly?"

"Um," he ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know. I figured we could just catch up or something. You wanna, um, grab some pizza at Pete's?"

Should she say yes? Should she say no? It wasn't like he was asking her out – he just wanted to catch up. And that was totally logical and rational. But could she deal with that, with talking to him at Pete's for a half-an-hour, an hour, however long it would end up being?

"Yea, sure." She wasn't sure. Not at all, but she answered yes anyways because she couldn't say no.

--

"So," he said.

"So," she repeated.

The pizza sat between them, untouched. A silence sat between them, as well, no words having been spoken for the last few minutes other than "_so_." Neither knew what to say, where to start. It was awkward at its finest hour.

Finally, Martin spoke. "How have you been?"

_Great, Martin, I've been great, fucking great. I cried myself to sleep for at least a week after you left. I was broken – _you _broke me. And I did a lot of stupid things, just to forget every damn hurt you ever unleashed on me. _She didn't say this. She wanted to, but she didn't.

She couldn't.

"I've been fine," she lied, "You?"

"Um, well, you know – the whole baby-isn't-mine thing. Other than that things have been ... alright, I guess, but I wouldn't say that these have been the best few months of my life."

_Me neither_.

"Um," she reached for a slice of pizza, "Anything new?"

"Not that you don't already know," he answered, "And you?"

"Not that you don't already know," she threw his answer back at him, waiting to see what he would say. She knew it was going to come up, the topic of Brian. She wasn't quite sure when, but she knew it would be soon.

"I see," he said. There was a slight pause, a slight awkwardness, and then he plowed on, digging into the dirt. "Brian?"

The way he said it twisted her heart. She'd known it was going to come up.

"What about him?" She would play dumb. He didn't like it, she knew, but really, what else was there she could do?

Martin rolled his eyes. "Ruthie, you know what I'm talking about. You. Him. Going out."

"Ohhhh," she drew the syllable out as long as she could, "That. Him. Well – we're going out." She took a bite of her pizza.

"I don't know if I like him," he finally decided.

"What are you, my dad?" she shot back snidely, "I already have one of those, thank you very much."

Martin ignored her. "Ruthie, I'm serious. I think – I think he's too old for you."

Was he for real?

"He's only two years older than me, Martin. He's eighteen, like you, and I'm sixteen. My parents let me date him, so I really don't see how this should be any concern or business of yours." She was angry at him – he didn't have a right, just now walking back into her life, judging her like this. It wasn't fair. Angrily, she pushed her chair away from the table and stood up.

"Ruthie," he started, standing up as well and following her as she hurried down the sidewalk, away from him, "Wait. Please – I'm sorry."

He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, gently turning her around to face him. "Look, I – I'm sorry. I overacted. I guess I just got worried. It's just – guys like Brian, well, they want something from girls and I don't think that – "

Ruthie cut him off. "I know what he wants – what he _wanted_," she corrected herself.

Martin stared at her, confused. "Ruthie, what do –"

"Look, let's just start over," she interuptted him again. She put on the biggest smile she could muster, "Hi Martin," she said brightly, holding out her hand for him to shake, "How have you been?"

Martin laughed. "Good, Ruthie," he answered, playing along, shaking the hand she'd extended, "I've been good. It's been a long time, huh?"

"Yea, it has. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure." They walked back over to Pete's, where their half-eaten pizza lay. Ruthie picked up her piece, taking another bite. Conversation – light conversation, about school, the weather – washed over them. Neither one brought up Sandy and the baby, neither one brought up Brian.

For the first time in a long time, Ruthie felt _happy_.

**--**

**A/N: So, I know, it's a bit short, but I felt that it ended at a good place. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chappie, guys. I'm glad you all like Marthie as much as I do! XD Also, since I love that everyone is taking the time to review, if you review this chapter (chapter two), I will send you a preview of chapter three, sometime within the next few days. So review if you'd like a preview! I plan to get chapter three up in a week or two, also, so look for that. And ... that's it. You all are so nice! XD**

**See you later, alligators,**

**The Queen of Pecans**

**P.S. I also made a banner for this story, look on my profile page under 'Stories' if you want to see it!**


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